Music fans never stop dreaming of their favorite broken bands getting back together! Join us as we count down the most epic musical reunions that rocked the world after years (sometimes decades) of separation. From unexpected reconciliations to triumphant returns that fans thought would never happen, these comebacks created musical history.
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the most iconic band reunions
00:12in the history of music. To be considered, the bands don't need to have technically broken up,
00:18so long as many of the original members left and later returned.
00:2210. The Beach Boys
00:29To be fair, this iconic and hugely influential group never really broke up.
00:40But the various iterations that continue to tour in the years after their heyday never really felt
00:46like the real Beach Boys. That's because Brian Wilson had always been kind of the heart and soul
00:52of the group.
01:00In 2012, however, something incredible happened that most fans never dared to hope for. A one-off
01:08reunion world tour featuring the last surviving Wilson and the rest of the original band lineup.
01:13Even better than that, we also got a new album, That's Why God Made the Radio, which was generally
01:23well-received by critics and fans alike.
01:26That's why God made the radio
01:30Number 9. Oasis
01:33It was a very good day when the Gallaghers announced their long-awaited return to the rock scene,
01:38and finally meant it.
01:40Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you.
01:44Oasis reunited for a 2025 tour, 16 years after their feud and subsequent breakup in 2009.
01:52New fans, and lifers alike, came out in droves to purchase tickets, with the initial United Kingdom
01:58and Ireland dates selling out rapidly. Based on the band's opening performances, critics have noted
02:04that the brothers still appear to have visual tension between them on stage.
02:08But don't look back in anger, I heard you say
02:13But regardless of their relationship status, the resurrection of their iconic catalogue is worth the price of admission.
02:22As we were walking out, I think I literally heard someone behind me saying I'd have paid £10,000 to see that.
02:27Number 8. My Chemical Romance
02:30Who doesn't get emotional listening to Welcome to the Black Parade?
02:34When I was a young boy, my father took me into the city
02:41After having taken a six-year break from their pop-punk endeavors,
02:45My Chemical Romance reconvened in 2019 for a reunion show in Los Angeles at the Shrine Exposition Hall.
02:52Yeah, they gave us hope when we needed it, they gave us community when we needed it.
02:56Oh my god, we sound like we're talking about the church.
02:58But when that show sold out in mere minutes, the band decided a larger return was in order,
03:05and planned a worldwide tour for 2020.
03:08Unfortunately, the world had other plans.
03:11Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they began their run in May of 2022.
03:17Regardless, this reunion made a major splash in the emo music community.
03:22So, love, I could die.
03:27Number 7. Pixies
03:29Forgive us for sounding like a broken record,
03:32but this is another one that we are still struggling to come to terms with.
03:36It goes on me, it goes on me, it goes on me.
03:43Although hugely successful in their own time, Pixies arguably became even more influential
03:49after they broke up, with a whole new generation of music lovers discovering their music.
04:02Over a decade after they broke up in 1993, they reunited in 2004, and fans young and old ecstatically lined up to see these modern alt-rock legends return to the stage.
04:14They even put out a new album in 2014, and have steadily been releasing music ever since.
04:24Number 6. Fleetwood Mac
04:26Various
04:27This iconic American-British rock band needs no introduction.
04:32Over the decades, they have remained active in various forms and with different members.
04:42But for many die-hard fans of the band, it's the lineup from their 1975 album, Rumors, were nothing.
04:48And thankfully, this lineup has graced us with more than one reunion over the years.
04:53First, they re-formed for President Clinton's inaugural ball in 1993.
04:58Don't stop from thinking about tomorrow
05:02Don't stop, it'll soon be here
05:06Then in 1997, the Rumors era lineup officially reunited, touring and releasing the live album, The Dance.
05:14Thunder only happens when it's raining
05:19Thankfully, this would not be the last time they got together.
05:24The 2014 On With The Show Tour even saw the return of the long-absent Christine McVie.
05:30Does it seem like 40 years?
05:32No.
05:33No, I mean, the gap since I left and rejoined seems to have sort of vanished like salt on a slug, you know?
05:43Sadly, McVie's death in 2022 meant the permanent end of this legendary band.
05:50No. 5 Eagles
05:52After a messy breakup in 1980, Don Henley of the Eagles was famously quoted as saying
05:58that they would play together again when hell freezes over.
06:01Thankfully, it never had to come to that.
06:12In 1994, almost a decade and a half after the members went their separate ways,
06:17the Eagles did reunite.
06:19And in a knowing wink to Henley's comments, they even named the live album, Hell Freezes Over.
06:24It's another tequila sunrise.
06:29It included four new tracks and was a massive success.
06:32The band had taken some much needed time apart, but they were back and had a new lease on life.
06:37You gotta stop, stop down, so why don't you quit?
06:40Get over it, get over it.
06:43In 2007, we were even treated to an album of new material, Long Road, Out of Eden.
06:49You were just too busy, you're fabulous.
06:54No. 4 Guns N' Roses
06:57Few bands in the history of rock music have had a more publicly volatile relationship
07:02than this iconic, industry-changing group from Los Angeles.
07:05Welcome to the jungle, we got fun and games.
07:111987's Appetite for Destruction put them on the map and made them international stars.
07:16By the beginning of the 1990s, however, things were already falling apart.
07:27By the second half of the decade, the band's lineup had become a revolving door of musicians,
07:32with Axl Rose as the only original member.
07:35Guns N' Roses felt like a band that was dead in everything but name.
07:39Then, in 2015, against unsurmountable odds, the band reunited with Rose Slash and Duff McKagan.
07:55G & R, the real G & R, was finally back together.
07:593 Black Sabbath
08:05These founding fathers of metal might not have formally called it quits until 2006,
08:10but Black Sabbath never felt the same after frontman Ozzy Osbourne's dismissal in 1979.
08:164 Black Sabbath
08:23And sure, he went on to carve out a career for himself as a solo artist and personality,
08:27but most fans agree that he was similarly at his best as part of the band.
08:325 Black Sabbath
08:36Finally, in 1992, Ozzy joined his former bandmates on stage for a short set. It would be another five
08:42years before a proper reunion tour happened, delivering some great shows and an excellent
08:48farewell album in 2017.
08:57That is, until the original members reunited for a show in their native Birmingham,
09:01commemorating Ozbourne's retirement less than a month before his death in 2025.
09:072 The Police
09:15You know what the nice thing is about being a three-piece band?
09:18It takes a lot less coordination and burying of hatchets to come back together.
09:29Regardless, after their disbandment in 1986 and decades apart,
09:34the police seemed unlikely to ever share their talents on stage again.
09:45Thankfully, in 2007, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the band, Sting, Andy Summers,
09:51and Stewart Copeland reunited to remind listeners everywhere about how and why they became international
09:58icons. The reunion tour took them around the world, and it was glorious.
10:03Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. The Stone Roses.
10:0815 years after breaking up, the Madchester leaders got the world moving again.
10:18Sleater Kinney. The indie rock pioneers are back and as prolific as ever.
10:23Sleater Kinney. The dance punk revivalists revived for new material and tours.
10:35And it keeps coming. And it keeps coming.
10:39Blur. After two reunions and two albums, the Britpop pioneers are still rocking.
10:45Blink-182. Despite inconsistent touring, these punks are still consistently killer.
10:581. Led Zeppelin. To see these rock legends together on stage is a bucket list item that will go unfulfilled
11:04for many.
11:11There's sadly no seeing the full lineup, as John Bonham's passing in 1980 broke up Led Zeppelin in the first
11:18place.
11:19With that being said, it was great seeing Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones take the stage with
11:32Bonham's son Jason.
11:52That's still a rock reunion, the likes of which few can compete.
11:57Two such reunions have occurred in 1988 and 2007, following a first reunion in 1985
12:04with a Live Aid performance featuring guest drummers.
12:14Oh, to have been in the crowd at any of these shows.
12:22What are some other worthy reunions of iconic bands?
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